THE SQUARE IN Tallaght has been placed into receivership.

AIB has appointed Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson of Interpath Advisory as joint receivers and managers to The Square shopping centre.

There are around 150 stores and 30 eateries in the shopping centre and in a statement today, Interpath Advisory said the owners of these independent units will not be impacted by the receivership.

Interpath Advisory added that the appointment of receivers and managers will not impact on continued operation and trading at The Square.

The statement also noted that the appointments have been made with the consent and co-operation of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management and that all parties will work to “complete an orderly sale of The Square to a new owner in early course”.

It was reported last year that Oaktree Capital had put the shopping centre on the market for €170 million but failed to attract a buyer.

In February, The Irish Times reported bids of around €125 million had been tabled, a figure that is around half the €250 million that Oaktree Capital paid to the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) for the complex in 2018.

Opened in 1990, The Square in Tallaght is one of Ireland’s biggest shopping centres.